INGLEWOOD—The Philadelphia Eagles flew into Sofi Staduum on October 8, as Quarterback Jalen Hurts led the Eagles to a 23-14 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. For the Rams, it marked the return of All-Pro wide Receiver Cooper Kupp to the Rams offense, although they were shut out in the second half falling to (2-3) on the season.
The Eagles are 5-0 for the second consecutive year, the first Super Bowl runner-up to win their first five games of the season since the 1991 Buffalo Bills. Philly WR A.J. Brown was stellar on this warm, sunny afternoon.
Brown was the catalyst toward the Eagles taking the lead for good. Getting the ball down, 14-10, with 32 second left in the first half, Brown made a one-handed catch for a 36-yard gain — combined with a 15-yard penalty by the Rams — to get the Eagles to the Rams’ 15. A pass interference penalty got the Eagles to the 1-yard line (on a pass intended for Brown).
Setting up a first and goal at the Rams 1-yard line with two seconds remaining in the first half.
A QB sneak run by Hurts was bold, executed with precision scoring a critical TD to take a 17-14 lead at the half. It was the most important play of the game, setting the tone for Eagles second half.
Including the “Tush Push,” Hurts finished 25 of 38 for 303 yards with a touchdown and an interception, along with 13 carries for 70 yards and a score. Dallas Goedert, who caught a touchdown on the opening possession, finished with eight catches for 117 yards.
Goedert was effectively used in Eagles offense for the first time this season. Los Angeles had a difficult time all afternoon covering Philadelphia’s wide receivers.
The Rams took the lead for the only time in the second quarter, as Kupp got the Rams deep into Philly territory with a 39-yard catch. That play set up Puka Nacua to give the Rams the lead with a 22-yard catch to put Los Angeles up, 14-10, with 32 seconds left in the first half.
Los Angeles got 8 catches for 118 yards from Kupp in his return and seven catches for 71 yards and a score from Nacua. The Rams were held to just 81 yards in the second, punting the ball three times and having a turnover on downs. Jalen Carter and Haason Reddick each had two sacks for the Eagles, with Reddick having consecutive sacks in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
LA’s Ahkello Witherspoon made an impressive end-zone interception in the third quarter to keep the Eagles from pulling away, but the Rams’ offense couldn’t capitalize on any opportunity.
On the Rams’ next-to-last possession, Stafford was sacked on consecutive snaps by Eagles linebacker Haason Reddick to annihilate any hope of a Rams comeback. Out of timeouts, the Rams got the ball back with just over a minute left, but couldn’t move the ball.
Stafford competed 21 of 37 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns — one caught by Tutu Atwell, the other by rookie Puka Nacua.
The most glaring stat explaining the loss would be the Eagles held the Rams scoreless through the final 30 minutes after giving up all 14 points in the first half.
The Rams will look to get back to .500 next week, as they host the Arizona Cardinals and the NFC West showdown at 1:25 p.m.
